It started with the dolls –or rather, the action figures.
There is a lot that goes into promoting an upcoming movie. Marketing can make or break the opening weekend of a blockbuster or turn a small indie film into a bankrolling phenomenon. In order to promote anything to the public, you need to make it inescapable from the eye of the everyday consumer: wall-sized posters in public transport, ads on TVs, and, recently, social media, and, of course, the pinnacle of capitalism…tie-in product promotion.
Using products as cinema promoting commodities was not always the norm. In the 70s, toy companies were not so overt in making movie-related toys or otherwise affiliated merchandise. Enter a young visionary called George Lucas.
Prior to the release of the first of many Star Wars movies, the “Phantom Menace,” Geroge Lucas felt really confident about his story and the success it would have with the public. His convictions – which were not shared by any of the big toy producers – led him to sign a licensing deal with Kenner for a basic line of 3 ½ inch action figures. This deal gave him and 20th Century Fox 2.5% each of every sale made on every Star Wars product sold by Kenner, which held the remaining 95%. Now, one does not need a BBA degree to understand that this was a terrible business deal for Lucas from all angles. However, given how unknown and unprecedented the success of the film was, it made sense at the time for all parties involved.
The numbers speak for themselves: Between 1977 and 1978, Star Wars sold $100 Million worth of toys, showing everyone the magic of cross-promotion marketing and brand synergy. Down the road, Lucas made better business decisions by sealing non-exclusive marketing deals with multiple companies, leading to the behemoth of Star Wars merchandise we are all familiar with today. The cross-promotion paradise flourished in the 2000s with movies like Shrek. By the eve of the 2010s, marketing became way more digital, leaving tie-in products a bit behind, because they were regarded as “tacky,” mostly associated with kids’ movies rather than serious blockbusters.
Barbie brought tie-in product promotion back into the spotlight and made it cool again. What Geroge Lucas first did was followed suit by Barbie’s marketing strategists in what many marketing magazines and reports have called one of the most successful campaigns in years.
But why?
The big selling point that Barbie always had – and that Lucas acquired in the process – was simple: faith in the franchise. Given the historical significance the doll had across generations of girls, as well as its undeniable impact on pop culture, everyone sort of knew that the movie would (at least financially) be a success before it even hit theatres. Prior to the release of Barbie, Mattel partnered with over 100 brand partners across fashion, beauty, accessories, and many more sectors. The color pink was truly inescapable.
Although the 2020s saw the return of several blockbusters with Avatar and Top Gun, Barbie managed to cataclysmically monopolise the attention of the public. After all, Barbie was a tie-in product itself, made to promote the very brand it has originated from, which made its promotion easier and more effective than movies like the Flash, which had the exact same marketing budget. Ostensibly, the highlight of the Barbie movie’s marketing campaign was the simplicity; how inherently easy it was to create a product that was, at least to some extent, Barbie-adjacent. Even for companies that did not manage or try to get a licensing deal with Mattel, it was so easy to profit from the hype created around the movie: all you had to do is associate yourself with the colour pink.
Boiling the marketing down to just a fun colour is not new. However, Barbie took it to a level never seen before, bringing back the underappreciated tactic of tie-in product promotion and paving the way for future movies and their promotional campaign. Remember: color is key.
The marketing theme for Deadpool & Wolverine took several notes from the Barbie handbook. Most of it made sure to emphasize the obvious colour scheme of red and yellow, therefore making products attached to its aesthetic. Although more selective than the Barbie team, working with brands that kind of fit the R-rated, 4th-wall-breaking vibe of the franchise, the marketing team for Deadpool & Wolverine still kept the colour scheme base central to their strategy. These campaigns take the “Barbie” movie’s approach of finding products with relatively overlapping audiences and good brand recognition to create ads that cross-promote both the movie and the brand. A capitalistic win-win. In some instances, like Heinz and Heineken, product placements feel so seamlessly integrated that the ads could be mistaken for movie teasers. And it was noticeably successful, marking around 135$ in profit from those products.
The release – or rather, the anticipation of the release – of Wicked took the same yellow-brick road towards successful marketing, ticking more or less the same proverbial marketing boxes as the two aforementioned movies. If all it takes for a movie to succeed in theatres and make the big bills is simplifying its brand to a colour, has the creative process of marketing become almost redundant? Has the easiness of marketability of a movie become more important than the quality of the movie itself? Well, not exactly.
Colour usually always starts this way – as a movement tied to a specific novelty. In the end, while tie-in products and clever colour schemes can make a movie unmissable, they can’t make it unforgettable. Barbie may have painted the town pink, and Deadpool & Wolverine might slash their way through red and yellow, but marketing can only set the stage — it’s the story that keeps the audience coming back.
It all comes full circle, back to where the tie-in trend was born: Star Wars and the faith George Lucas had in its potential. Profitable marketing, especially in the age of the attention economy, is a concoction of self-awareness and a feeling of authenticity — even if that authenticity has been manufactured. No matter how good the products from these aforementioned campaigns might have been, they cannot compete with the legacy left by movies and franchises that reached viewers on a deeper level than where their wallets could take them. So, while the allure of “brand first, plot later” is tempting, one thing remains clear: no shade of pink, red, or yellow can substitute for the timeless magic of a great film.
Featured image provided by @quejiong on Pinterest.
